Ridley Scott confirmed to direct Cormac McCarthy penned The Counselor

Director Ridley Scott has committed to direct the recently completed spec script by Cormac McCarthy entitled THE COUNSELOR. We've followed this closely since it was announced and it has been on like Donkey Kong in terms of the speed in which it's been fast tracked. It's almost as rare as a Haley's Comet rotation for a script to be submitted, sold, bought, and put into production with this kind of turnaround.

THE COUNSELOR, the first original script by McCarthy, is being described as "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN on steroids." Set in the gritty world that McCarthy is known for creating, THE COUNSELOR involves "a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip a toe in to the drug business without getting sucked down. It is a bad decision and he tries his best to survive it and get out of a desperate situation."

Sounds about right for McCarthy who has made quite a name for himself as a novelist and recently with high-profile adaptations like NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and the highly underrated THE ROAD. Currently, Michael Fassbender is in talks to take the lead role of the titular character, reuniting the pair after their recently completed collaboration on PROMETHEUS. It's expected that Scott will fill the supporting roles with top tier talent as well and plans to begin shooting on May 1st, 2012, six months after McCarthy turned the script in.

Amazing shit, right there.

Scott, no stranger to piling on projects, the latest being a sequel to his classic BLADERUNNER. He's been threatening that Monopoly board game adaptation for years now. Let's hope he forgets about this one. How amazing would it be if THE COUNSELOR actually premiered in December of this year? Guess we'll see...

Extra Tidbit:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is one of the best books I've ever read and the movie measured up in every way for me. I'm told I need to read Blood Meridian. Any other McCarthy fans have some recommendations?